Gloucestershire

In pictures: Radio Times original artwork for sale

An auction of original designs, mock-ups and printed editions of early copies of the Radio Times is to take place at Dominic Winter Auctioneers, South Cerney, Gloucestershire on Wednesday. Among the items for sale is this first ever edition from September 1923.

Among the archives are printed and manuscript mock-ups for alternative titles such as Ariel News, My Radio and Radio News, before the title of Radio Times was settled on.

The archive was discovered when a woman was helping her elderly parents to de-clutter. Her father remembered a bag full of items that came from a house clearance somewhere on the south coast of England about 30 years ago. Since then, the archive had languished forgotten in a cupboard. This photo shows the artwork for the Radio Times masthead.

Other designs for the Radio Times masthead, which were not chosen, are among the items for sale. It is estimated the entire archive will make £500-£800 at auction.

Among items of correspondence for sale is this letter from director of programmes Arthur R Burrows to OH Blake of the publishers George Newnes, asking for certain changes to be made to the designs.

After the great success of the Radio Times there were calls within the BBC to publish other periodicals of a more high-brow nature. Among the suggestions which never made it to print was Radio Music, a dummy edition of which was produced for the music department. The original masthead artwork is among the items for sale.

A hand-written letter from Arthur R Burrows to OH Blake features a small sketch depicting the initial 'R' over the coastline of Britain. A similar design was eventually used in the original Radio Times masthead.

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